I've been having this problem too, I was beginning to think it might be partially my router that was causing the problem, as my browser would sometimes go dead as well, it still doesn't explain why it takes forever to log back in though. Also, I wouldn't mind trying to open ports in my router, especially since my .NAT settings are at a moderate setting,
but I have absolutely no idea how to do this as my modem/router was set up by my ISP.